Twenty-nine people died and 310 were injured in 313 road accidents on Thursday, the sixth day of the seven-day Songkran holiday.
Compared to the 2019 data, the numbers fell in all three categories (see chart). Travel was banned during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
In the past six days, the death toll from road accidents has reached 238, most of them in Chiang Mai (9) followed by Bangkok, Khon Kaen, Chon Buri, Nakhon Ratchasima and Pathum Thani, with eight each.
The main causes of most accidents are: driving under the influence, accounting for 38,2% of all accidents, speeding (27,4%), cutting others off (17%) and poor visibility (13,5%). Most accidents involved motorcycles (79,3%), followed by pickup trucks (6,9%). The time when most accidents occurred was from 16.00:20.00 PM to 29,7:12.00 PM (16.00%), followed by 20,9:XNUMX PM to XNUMX:XNUMX PM (XNUMX%).
Two million vehicles were stopped for inspection by authorities in the past six days and 394.000 drivers were ticketed, mainly for not having a driver's license, not wearing a helmet and for speeding.
Source: Bangkok Post
About this blogger
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
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We drove from Prasat (Surin) to Pranburi on April 15th. That was a distance of 600 km. Of course I can't say who was driving under the influence, but on that ride I saw so many times how bad the driving behavior of some people was. Driving too close together, cutting and driving too fast in places where it really couldn't. Or the other extreme, which also causes accidents in my opinion: driving too slowly. For the Thai way of entering the road. They drive between 90 and 150 on the roads and then most Thais drive onto the road at a speed of 40. Not that they give gas….
And what also often strikes me are indeed the pick-ups. The SUVs and such types. Many drivers really think that they are “The King of the Road” with those cars. I don't let them drive me crazy, when I'm on the right half and I'm already driving 120 kilometers too fast at 30 km/h and they try to push me off the road less than two meters behind me... I let them and sometimes just tap the brake pedal when it gets too colorful. If I have room, I sometimes go to the left.
When it rains you mainly see the pick-ups with speeds higher than 100. Apparently they have never heard of Aquaplaning, or are those pick-ups so special that this does not happen to them? You also often see signs along the road that you should not drive faster than 60 in rain. But who adheres to it?
I often read in this forum that the police had to take stricter action to make traffic safer and I always answered (in my mind often): stricter requirements for the driving test and good training are more effective. But now I have to add: there are signs everywhere along the road that indicate the speed to be driven. Lines have been drawn that no one adheres to. In these cases it would be really effective to issue fines there. It is very dangerous that you cannot go on the road, because everyone ignores the lines that serve to direct traffic in the right direction.
Now in Hua Hin they have put large orange (or red) blocks in many places, which you simply cannot ignore….
And yet, with all the shortcomings, I'm more comfortable driving here than in Germany. There I drove 270 km from home to Frankfurt airport four times a month for many years. You had to expect huge traffic jams during the holiday periods and at certain times of the day for the rest of the year. Along the way there were plenty of places where you could eat a sandwich or a meal, but very expensive.
Here in Thailand you have many petrol stations, especially the PTT stations with very good facilities. The traffic (except for the big cities) is not nearly as busy as in Germany and I also like that you can (not officially) overtake on the left here, without a cop chasing you. In Germany you had to overtake on the right…. either the police caught you, or fellow road users with a teacher syndrome were teaching you or did not let you pass….